UK Researchers Revealed that Aircraft Noise Led to Increased Risk of Heart Problems

Jagran Josh

Oct 9, 2013 13:05 IST

The researchers from the Imperial College London and the King's College London, in the second week of October 2013 revealed that a lot of aircraft noise can increase the risks of circulatory, heart and stroke diseases. The study was conducted on 3.6 million residents near Heathrow Airport. The study suggested that the risks of these people increase by 10-20 percent with the highest levels of aircraft noise.

However, the researchers agreed that noise was not the only reason to blame and that further research was required in this area. The research suggested highest risk for the hospital admissions as well as deaths from the stroke, circulatory diseases or heart diseases for the 2 percent of study. This meant that around 70000 people were at an increased risk in UK where the aircraft noise was the loudest.

The lead author, Dr Anna Hansell, from Imperial College London explained that louder aircraft noise can contribute to other factors such as rising blood pressure because of disturbance in the people’s sleep. This can lead to a startle reaction to the loud noise, which in turn can lead to other factors.

In the study, the data about the noise levels in 2001 from the Civil Aviation Authority was used. This data covered 12 London boroughs and nine districts outside of London where the noise exceeded 50 decibels.

However, the researchers explained that other factors can also contribute towards the risks of heart disease and heart stroke. These included smoking-related factors, South Asian ethnicity and deprivation.

The UK Government spokesman also explained that the number of people affected by the noise around the Heathrow Airport was falling considerably in recent years because of the improvements in the aviation technology as well as better planning of the flight paths. In the meanwhile, in next few months, the Public Health England will recruit experts in order to examine the public health issues around the exposure of the noise.

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